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A male and female ballet dancer perform on stage; the man wears a white shirt and boots and holds the woman, who wears a flowing white dress and balances gracefully on one pointe shoe.

The Scandal at Mayerling

A royal family. A dark secret.

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Renowned for pushing the boundaries of performance, this is Scottish Ballet at its most fearless.

Vienna, 1889: behind the glittering facade of the Habsburg court, Crown Prince Rudolf is spiralling. Trapped by duty, isolated within his own family, and increasingly consumed by addiction and despair, he moves through a world of splendour that offers him everything… except the freedom he craves. When the young Mary Vetsera is drawn into his turbulent world, their intense connection accelerates a descent towards the infamous tragedy at the Mayerling hunting lodge, a scandal the monarchy fought to conceal. 
 
The Scandal at Mayerling pulls us into Rudolf’s fractured psyche. His turmoil spills into every corner of his world, shaping the way he moves, reacts and reaches for meaning. The women around him are forces in their own right: a mother shaped by duty, a wife negotiating constraint, a mistress alert to the gathering danger, and Mary, determined and headstrong, yet far younger than the world she enters. The turmoil coursing through Rudolf’s world erupts in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s demanding, visceral choreography, driving dancers to their physical and emotional limits. 
 
In this two-act reimagining of MacMillan’s celebrated masterpiece Mayerling, the focus sharpens on a prince collapsing under the weight of expectation. Elin Steele’s sumptuous set and costume designs create a world of opulence and unease that mirrors Rudolf’s unravelling. Franz Liszt’s sweeping Romantic score, performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, amplifies the drama with surging power. 
 
Content Warning: This production includes themes of suicide, addiction, coercive relationships, violence and mental distress. Recommended for ages 15+.

Running time: approx 2 hours including interval

Tour Dates

Theatre Royal, Glasgow

7 – 10 April 2027

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

22 – 24 April 2027

His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen

30 April – 1 May 2027

Discounted priority booking for Silver and Gold Friends opens on Friday 29 May at 12pm. Sign up today to get tickets first and save. General booking opens on Friday 5 June at 12pm.

Reviews 

★★★★★ ‘Extraordinary’

The Stage

★★★★★‘Possibly the best production ever by our national dance company’

Scottish Daily Express

★★★★★‘Performed with passion, punch and panache’

Edinburgh Guide

★★★★‘One of the most dramatic performances the company has ever given’

The Scotsman

Credits

Original Choreography

Sir Kenneth MacMillan

Creative Director and Choreographer

Christopher Hampson CBE

Staging, Direction, Adaption

Gary Harris

Original Scenario

Gillian Freeman

Set and Costume Design

Elin Steele

Lighting Design

Paul Pyant

Video Design

Hayley Egan

Composer

Franz Liszt

Orchestration

Martin Yates

Synopsis

Act 1

Scene 1: The ballroom at the Hofburg Palace, Vienna – some years earlier

The Imperial Court celebrates the marriage of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary and Princess Stephanie of Belgium. Rudolf flirts shamelessly with Stephanie’s sister, Princess Louise, offending both his new bride and his parents, Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth. Rudolf meets Countess Larisch, his former mistress, and Baroness Vetsera who introduces her daughter Mary Vetsera. Throughout the celebrations, Rudolf is hounded by four Hungarian nationalists to support their separatist cause, which he does conspicuously.

Countess Larisch attempts to reignite her affair with Rudolf before they are discovered by the Emperor, who demands that Rudolf return to his wife. Throughout the evening Rudolf is showing signs of an already deteriorating mental state, damaged by drug and alcohol abuse to numb his pain against the symptoms of suspected syphilis.

Scene 2: Empress Elisabeth’s apartments at the Hofburg Palace

After the ball, Rudolf visits his mother on his way to his new bride. He expresses his deep unhappiness at being pressured into the marriage and is desperate for some understanding and maternal affection. He attempts to embrace her, but being so estranged from him in his upbringing, she is unable to respond with any warmth or tenderness.

Scene 3: Rudolf’s apartments at the Hofburg Palace

Princess Stephanie is preparing for her wedding night. Rudolf enters and shows her a skull and a revolver. His macabre obsession terrifies her. He spends the night tormenting Stephanie, his frenzied attacks ending in him sexually assaulting her.

Act 2

Scene 1: A tavern

Rudolf and Stephanie, now trapped in a loveless marriage, enter a tavern accompanied by Rudolf’s driver Bratfisch, who attempts to lighten Stephanie’s spirits. Brothel workers compete for the men’s attention which causes Stephanie to flee in disgust. Rudolf turns his attention to his Hungarian friends and his regular mistress, Mitzi Kaspar. His meeting with the Hungarian nationalists is practically treasonous and the police burst in and arrest several people. As Rudolf’s mood deteriorates, he proposes a suicide pact to Mitzi. Repelled, she leaves and Rudolf escapes with the help of Bratfisch.

Scene 2: Outside the tavern

Countess Larisch, Rudolf’s former mistress, chaperoning Mary Vetsera, presents her to Rudolf as he leaves the tavern.

Scene 3: The Vetsera house

Countess Larisch finds Mary absorbed by a portrait of Rudolf. She tells Mary’s fortune using a pack of cards and informs her that her romantic dreams will come true. Mary gives the Countess a letter to deliver to Rudolf on her behalf.

Scene 4: Rudolf’s apartments at the Hofburg Palace

Rudolf and young Mary meet in private for the first time, sparking the beginning of their passionate and destructive affair.

The Emperor, Franz Josef, having learned of his son’s positive convictions for the Hungarian nationalist cause, fears for the future of the Empire. His son’s political and private instabilities are beginning to have a disastrous effect on the future of the monarchy.

The Empress discovers Countess Larisch and Rudolf alone together and angrily dismisses the Countess, unaware Mary is waiting outside. Mary secretly enters after the Empress has left.

Feeling increasingly abandoned by the crown and unable to see a clear way forward through his deteriorating mental state, Rudolf proposes a suicide pact, to which Mary agrees.

Scene 5: The hunting lodge at Mayerling

Rudolf is drinking with some friends but soon asks them to leave, saying he is unwell. Bratfisch enters with Mary. Rudolf instructs Bratfisch to entertain them both but realising he has lost their attention he leaves Rudolf and Mary alone.

Fuelled by morphine, alcohol, and his worsening mental condition, Rudolf carries out his suicidal pact – shooting Mary and then himself.

Production Shots from 2022 Tour

A man in period costume sits at an ornate desk on stage, holding a skull and gazing at it intently. The scene is dramatically lit, with books and a glass globe also on the desk, creating a theatrical atmosphere.
A man in a decorated military uniform and a woman in a white gown and tiara dance together at a formal event, surrounded by other elegantly dressed couples waltzing.
A theatrical stage scene with a man and woman in period costumes kissing passionately, surrounded by dancers in colourful, elaborate outfits, with dramatic lighting and a lively atmosphere.
A woman in a vibrant red and black costume dances centre stage, smiling, while other performers in colourful outfits pose and interact dramatically in the dimly lit background.
A performer in a top hat and vintage costume jumps mid-air on stage, smiling, with several other actors in colourful outfits sitting and standing in the background, creating a lively theatrical scene.
Two ballet dancers perform on stage; one in a dark dress leans into the other, who is dressed in white, kneeling and dramatically arching backwards with an arm reaching upwards. The background is dimly lit.
A couple dancing together. Crown Prince Rudolf lifts Mary Vetsera as she reaches towards his leg, with her legs above his head.
A ballerina in a purple dress performs an arabesque, supported by a male dancer in a royal costume, whilst other dancers in period attire watch in the background on a dimly lit stage.
A male and female ballet dancer perform a dramatic pose on stage; the man holds the woman's waist as she extends her leg and reaches up towards a pistol he is raising, with a vintage desk and books in the background.

Principals Evan Loudon as Crown Prince Rudolf and Sophie Martin as Mary Vetsera in Sir Kenneth Macmillan's The Scandal at Mayerling
A ballerina in a yellow dress gracefully leaps as she holds a sword with a dancer in a white shirt and tights, on a stage with blue curtains and an ornate blue chair.
A man and woman in dramatic poses perform a contemporary dance on stage. The woman wears a flowing orange dress, and both have expressive, outstretched hands against a dark background.
A male ballet dancer lies on his back, lifting a female dancer above him as she arches gracefully. Both wear period costumes on a stage with a vintage chair and garments in the background.
A male and female ballet dancer perform a dramatic scene on stage, kneeling close together under a spotlight. The man wears a white shirt and dark boots, whilst the woman wears a pale dress, both expressing intense emotion.
A man in period costume kneels on stage, holding a skull in one hand and looking at it thoughtfully. Behind him is a gold and blue ornate chair draped with fabric. The scene is dramatically lit.
Two ballet dancers perform passionately; one leans dramatically backwards while the other supports them, both in expressive poses. They are dressed in period costumes, with a textured, rust-coloured backdrop behind them.